Drew’s return remains cloudy

FORT MYERS, Fla. — The Red Sox thought shortstop Stephen Drew suffered only a mild concussion when Minnesota’s Caleb Thielbar hit him in the helmet with a pitch March 7. A week later, it’s apparent it was more than that.

Drew has yet to play, and it may be at least another few days before he does, as his symptoms persist.

“They’re not clearing up maybe as we first anticipated,” said manager John Farrell. “We’ve just got to remain patient with this and give him the appropriate time needed.”

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The hope was for Drew to go through a regular practice and return to the lineup Friday. But he must first be cleared by Major League Baseball. Once a concussion is diagnosed, teams must consult regularly with league-approved doctors.

“You never really know,” said Farrell when asked whether Drew could have a long-term issue. “These are so case-by-case. Certainly we’re hopeful that it’s not.

“Based on the impact at the time, it didn’t seem to be a direct blow, but yet we’re certainly not taking this lightly and we’ll go through every precautionary test that we need to.”

Drew went through more testing Thursday. He has only 21 plate appearances in camp.

Bard solid again

Daniel Bard had a third consecutive solid outing, throwing a scoreless sixth inning against the Twins in a 7-3 Red Sox victory.

He walked the first batter, Chris Parmelee, before Joe Benson singled. But Bard struck out Oswaldo Arcia before getting a fly ball and a ground out to end the inning.

“He regrouped and kept the damage to a minimum,” Farrell said.

Farrell’s one complaint was the walk, because Bard threw a slider instead of a fastball.

“That’s part of spring training, getting the mind in shape as well as the body,” Farrell said.

Very slow going

Lefthanded reliever Craig Breslow has yet to throw off the mound because of what the Red Sox have called shoulder “soreness.” He played catch from 90 feet Thursday. “Progress, albeit very slow,” Farrell said. Breslow has been getting frequent days off — at least two a week — and there is no date set for him to throw off the mound. “Slow, because we’re making sure that there’s strength gains made in his shoulder,” Farrell said. Breslow was signed to a two-year, $6.25 million deal Jan. 19. Less than a month later, he was sidelined with the shoulder pain.

Let’s play two

The Red Sox have a split-squad doubleheader on Friday. There is an afternoon game in Sarasota against Baltimore and a night game at JetBlue Park against the Twins. Minor leaguers will be called up to supplement both rosters. Outfielder Bryce Brentz, the prospect who accidentally shot himself in the leg with a handgun in January, is scheduled to play against the Orioles . . . Indians manager Terry Francona joined his team in a “Harlem Shake” dance video. Farrell got a good chuckle from seeing his longtime friend dance. “We talk about as players develop — he hasn’t developed any more as a dancer,” Farrell said. Could we see Farrell dancing next? “Don’t blink,” he said.